Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud ensure Arsenal go into Christmas in second
Arsenal saw off Manchester City this evening at the Emirates Stadium thanks to a 2-1 victory which puts them just two-points behind league-leaders Leicester City.
The Gunners were still without key stars, including Alexis Sanchez who was deemed not fit enough to be in the squad this evening. It was more positive however for City as they welcomed back Sergio Aguero after a three-week lay-off.
Arsene Wenger‘s side went into the game one point above City, but by the end of the night, they extended that gap to four.
Summary
It was quite a quiet game in the opening half-hour, but it was the visitors who should have taken the lead when Kevin De Bruyne was put through one-on-one with Petr Cech.
However, instead of squaring it to David Silva for an easy tap-in, De Bruyne went for goal himself and put it wide.
Almost immediately at the other end, Arsenal did find the back of the net, and they did it in some style.
Mesut Ozil found Theo Walcott who then curled home beautifully past Joe Hart from just outside the box. It was Ozil‘s 14th assist of the season already.
The German play-maker soon made it 15 when he put through Olivier Giroud, who calmly slotted under Hart right on the stroke of half-time to double their lead.
Ozil’s 15th assist of the season, putting him just five behind Thierry Henry‘s record-breaking tally.
In the second-half there were several chances for the hosts, with Joel Campbell and Aaron Ramsey both coming close on a couple of occasions, but it was City who found the net to put the game into question.
Yaya Toure, who was relatively quiet for the whole game, turned into the Toure of old in the last 20-minutes and his goal was something special as he passed the ball into the top corner from just outside the box.
However it was all to late for City as they fell to yet another away-day defeat.
Arsenal’s victory keeps them second on 36 points, while City stay third on 32.
Match Reaction
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: “It was a very intense game, with both teams giving everything. We always looked dangerous. We got great goals in the first half and we became shaky at 2-1.
“We knew how big this game was, Theo Walcott scored a fantastic goal which surprised Joe Hart and it put us on the way. Olivier Giroud is influential in every game. We missed chances, that’s the fear you have. When you see Wilfried Bony and Jesus Navas coming on you know they can make a difference.
“Yaya Toure, I have known him since he was 15 years old and he can play in every position. He has scored so many late goals but this one is one of the exceptional ones.
“It is too early to talk about the title but we are up there. It gives us confidence. I believe we have a very strong spirit, there is life in the team.
“Alexis Sanchez will not be back until the 10th of January or so.
“There is exceptional life in this team. Every win strengthens your belief and even more in a big game like that. We have something really special there.
“We have good desire to improve and we earned the right to win in these games. You could see when the legs went they still kept going, that’s fantastic to see.
“You get used to that from Mesut Ozil, I am long enough in the game to know that to find this quality you have to travel a long way.
“This league is very difficult, that makes you cautious. Today we did alright, now let’s get the resources out on the 26th.”
Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil on Sky Sports: “We had a lot of difficult games but we are happy to win. All the team are happy, and me too. I am happy to help the team, you see that on the pitch. Today was again an important game and I try to give my best.
“We believe in us. We know our quality if we play our game, we can win the league. We will give all the season our best.”
Arsenal forward Theo Walcott: “When you have to hold on for 10 minutes it’s very hard, they scored a stunning goal out of nowhere. A special moment. We got the three points and that’s all that matters.
“Mesut Ozil is very modest! He sees things that nobody else does, you just have to make that run. When you have special players on the pitch it makes our jobs so much easier.”
Man City defender Bacary Sagna: “It is hard to take. We started really well and they scored with the first shot, against the run of the game.
“We have to keep our head up and work hard. It is not a blow, we will keep fighting to the end and have many games to close the gap. We are missing a bit of luck and a bit of quality.”
Man City midfielder Yaya Toure: “In the end we were unlucky. We had a couple of chances and it is disappointing. Arsenal counter-attacked very quick, it is tough to take.
“We played very well, it’s not easy to control the game at Arsenal. They took their chances, Theo Walcott scored a great goal but the league is not finished yet.
“We showed a couple of years ago that we can win the league from behind. We will get all the players fit and get back to business.”
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini: “The second goal was decisive. The first shot they had was the first goal, before that we had a clear option to score. The second goal was important in the last minute of the half, it was an important mistake from our team.
“You must win these important games. It was important for Sergio to return to the team, maybe he needs a couple of games to return to his performances but it was important to have him back. There are 63 more points to win, a lot of games and the way we played in the second half shows that we will continue to fight for the title.
“I don’t know about statistics, but of course we are not out of the title race. If you don’t believe, you are not in the profession.
“I am uncomfortable because we played better than Arsenal. When we had possession we had chances, before the beautiful goal from Theo Walcott. We took more risks and created chances but you cannot make mistakes in these important games.
“We will continue to fight for the title.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt
